This 2011 file photo shows a flooded road on Hatteras Island, N.C., after Hurricane Irene swept through the area the previous day cutting the roadway in five locations. From Cape Hatteras, N.C., to just north of Boston, sea levels are rising much faster than they are around the globe, putting one of the world's most costly coasts in danger of flooding, according to a 2012 study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. By the year 2100, scientists and computer models estimate that sea levels globally could rise as much as 3.3 feet. The accelerated rate along the East Coast could add about another 8 to 11 inches, said Asbury Sallenger Jr., an oceanographer for the USGS.

A reader named Fred writes: "Physical science [my field of training] does not ever "fact find" by consensus. Science requires that a valid theory make predictions that are verifiable by measurable, repeatable outcomes. No voting is required or desired. The former 'global warming' / now 'climate change' hypothesis does not meet this fundamental test so it is not science.